anesthesia

Definition

An artificial method of preventing sensation, used to eliminate pain without causing loss of vital functions, by the administration of one or more agents which block pain impulses before transmitted to the brain.

Etymology

Sense of “insensibility” attested since 1679, from New Latin anaesthēsia, from Ancient Greek ἀναισθησία (anaisthēsía, “without sensation”), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) and αἴσθησις (aísthēsis, “sensation”). By surface analysis, an- + -esthesia. Sense of “state induced by an agent” attested since 1846.

Example Sentences

• "In addition, 0.5 ml of 1% lidocaine HCl was injected subcutaneously in the postauricular area for local anesthesia."
• "In some individuals optimism may become quasi-pathological. The capacity for even a transient sadness or a momentary humility seems cut off from them as by a kind of congenital anæsthesia."

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